Foundation Boss on That Season 2 Finale Death: ‘No Character Has Plot Armor’
The following contains massive spoilers from Foundation’s Season 2 finale. Proceed accordingly.
Foundation wrapped Season 2 on a shocking note with the death of Salvor, who, according to Isaac Asimov’s classic novels (from which the show is adapted), was poised to die later in the series.
In Friday’s finale, however, Salvor was unexpectedly slain by a young Mentalic still under Tellem’s mind control, having leapt in front of a bullet meant for Gaal. Showrunner David S. Goyer tells TVLine that killing Salvor off earlier than fans anticipated was a difficult but necessary decision in order to move the story forward as the series gears up to introduce its next big bad: a mysterious Mentalic and warlord known as “the Mule.”
“I knew at the beginning, when we were breaking [Season 2], what was going to happen to Bel and Hober, and Salvor’s demise was something that we planned for Season 3,” Goyer explains. “In the middle of writing the season, I proposed bringing it up to the end of the season because Salvor was going to die at the hands of the Mule at the end of [Season 3].”
But after sharing the idea with his fellow writers — who all “love the character” and portrayer Leah Harvey, Goyer notes, himself included — moving up her death felt like the stronger creative choice. “Even then, we didn’t show it to the studio for a good six months because we wanted to make sure that we didn’t have second thoughts,” he noted.
In an interview that took place before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Harvey revealed to TVLine that they learned of the character’s death while filming Season 2.
“It’s quite a drastic thing to happen to a character, and you never quite expect it,” Harvey shared. “[I] was just like, ‘OK, great. It all makes sense. I’m ready to go’ and attacked it head-on and made sure I really enjoyed myself for the season. It’s been such an honor to play her. I think she leaves a really big impact on the show and in the characters in the show. She will live on, like in the books.”
For Goyer, Salvor’s passing shows that no one is safe. “The audience’s expectation of this character is [that she is] going to die potentially at the hands of the Mule, and so she’s definitely not dying in Season 2,” the Foundation boss says. “And I just think that’s exciting to do. That’s not the cynical reason why we did it, but it’s a nice bonus. No character has plot armor.”
Ultimately, Salvor’s abrupt demise speaks to one of the show’s overarching questions: Is the future is written in stone, or can it be changed?
“It felt like the gift Salvor’s death has given both Gaal and the show is that it’s not written in stone,” Goyer says. “And so, even with the Mule coming down the pipe, humanity has a chance.”
“More importantly, there are moments when Gaal has wavered and [contemplated] whether or not this is all worth it,” he continues. “Well, Salvor’s sacrifice now means that if she’s going to honor her daughter’s sacrifice, she can’t turn away. She has to fight for the future because her daughter died to protect the future and died to protect her.”
The Mule briefly appeared at the end of the hour, teeing up his arrival in Foundation, which has not yet been renewed for Season 3 by Apple TV+. (Note: Goyer confirmed to TVLine that Season 3 has already been written.)
“Yes, he is super scary. He’s magnitudes of order more powerful than Tellem,” Goyer teases. “When Asimov created [the Mule], it was a character that flipped the whole table over. When the Mule enters the story properly in [a potential] Season 3, that’s completely what he does… As crazy as the end of Season 2 is, Season 3 is even crazier. You haven’t seen anything yet.”
What did you think of Foundation’s Season 2 finale? Did the Mule’s cameo at the end of the hour leave you itching for a potential Season 3? Grade the season-ender below, and then share your opinions and theories in the comments.
I never read the books and wasn’t sure if I’d like the show but it has so many shocking moments. I just love every episode. I never know who is still gonna be living and who is gonna die. That’s the way tv used to be and it’s good to see some shows can still shock us.
I agree with you. Not sure why you got some downvotes, except maybe a few people preferred the major characters had lived on.
Book fans who are still watching can’t be that surprised because the TV show has made lots of big changes. It’s a bad adaptation in some ways of a challenging book – but a good show!
I would encourage people who like the show not to read the books by Asimov. You’ll realize how much you’ve been shortchanged.
I read the books 60 years ago. My strongest memories are the long boring passages. I remember that I fought my way through. The show has brought the story to life. Some scenes are simply awe inspiring.
My biggest problem with the finale was that they had this great reveal that Hober had manipulated Day into a situation where all the empire ships would be destroyed – which would also result in Hober and Day also dying – but then they threw in the bit where Hober did the castling maneuver causing Day to be spaced. The castling thing was great but at that point totally redundant since they were all going to die anyway. It’s like they had two great gimmicks but they sort of cancelled each other.